The Gaspereau River is a river in Kings County, Nova Scotia , Canada .
37-670: It has a length of approximately 24 km from its source at Gaspereau Lake on the South Mountain south of Kentville to its mouth at Hortonville on the Minas Basin . The lower portion of the river is tidal for 6.5 km until Melanson and there are extensive tidal marshes in the lower reaches. The upper 16 km runs swiftly over gravel beds, boulders and bedrock, except for several dammed sections which form narrow and deep channels. Damming for Hydroelectric generation has resulted in twelve major lakes being connected to
74-773: A submarine power cable across the Cabot Strait . In 2013, Nova Scotia Power signed an agreement to act as the agent of NSPML in commercial relationships with neighbouring utilities. Nova Scotia Power also agreed to provide transmission services for Nalcor Energy in Nova Scotia, allowing electricity to be traded among all four Atlantic provinces . An audit commissioned by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB) and conducted by Liberty Consulting Group in 2012 found that NSP overcharged its customers by $ 21.8 million because it paid too much for fuel over
111-686: A $ 13.4 million contingency. The project began in the fall of 2019 and NSP plans to be finished in 2021. NSPI has a generating capacity of 2,368 megawatts and produces 13,000 gigawatt hours of electricity each year. As of 2014, the utility operates 43 power stations , excluding wind turbines , using sources of energy including coal, petcoke , natural gas and renewables. 1987 (coal) NSPI also purchases energy from independent power producers who generate electricity using wind, hydro, and biomass (including landfill gas ). Notable examples include wind farms at Pubnico Point, Lingan, and Dalhousie Mountain. There are six municipal utilities currently operating in
148-614: A block of hydroelectric power at a fixed price, the deal served the longstanding policy goal of reducing Nova Scotia's dependence on coal-fired generation. A new regulated utility registered in Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Power Maritime Link Incorporated (NSPML), was formed to build and maintain the Maritime Link , including overhead power lines between the Granite Canal Hydroelectric Generating Station and Cape Ray, Newfoundland and
185-421: A government agency founded in 2006, was recast as the agency responsible for "the planning, development, and co-ordination of policies and programs for energy efficiency and conservation, including public education and behavioural change" in 2009. A new non-profit agency, Efficiency Nova Scotia , was created in 2010 to offer demand side management programs previously offered by Nova Scotia Power. The agency
222-678: A hydroelectric dam was completed a Stivers Falls near White Rock in 1920. It was the first of a series of hydroelectric dams which replaced the remaining water sawmills with a network of hydroelectric dams. Eventually eight dams and five hydroelectric stations were built along the Gaspereau River, diverting some lakes into the Gaspereau which once flowed into the Avon River . Fish ladders were built to allow some fish migration to continue. A longtime tradition of recreational tubing on
259-656: A new application for provincewide installation of the meters, including a cost-benefit analysis, which it will submit to the board sometime this summer" i.e. before September 2017. On June 12 2018 the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board approved the application by Nova Scotia Power to install new Smart Meters throughout the Province at a cost of up to $ 133.2 million. Project costs included all computers systems, installation costs, communications, administration and financing as well as new meters. Costs also included
296-670: A one-to-one basis on January 1, 1999. Common shares in NS Power Holdings Inc. began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Montreal Stock Exchange on January 6, 1999. The NS Power Holdings Inc. name was changed to Emera Incorporated on July 17, 2000. In the wake of major winter storms in 2004, NS Power came under increasing criticism from the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, energy-oriented public interest groups, and provincial political parties for
333-403: A perceived lack of investment in the monitoring, preventive maintenance and instrumenting of its electric grid. A study was eventually commissioned from SNC-Lavalin to explore a "regional system operator" to relieve NS Power of the control of the grid, but Nova Scotia Power remains a single, vertically integrated utility as of 2014. Concerns were raised by the Nova Scotia government regarding
370-797: A two-year period. The audit was heavily redacted when first released in July 2009, but the NSUARB ordered the release of the unredacted report in September 2009, arguing that it would not harm NSP's ability to carry on its business. As NS implemented its climate and demand side management strategies, lobbyists questioned whether the Nova Scotia Power could be trusted to administer a province-wide conservation program designed to prevent having to build any large, new power plant. Its "integrated resource plan" of 2007 indicated that energy conservation
407-707: A way to reduce power costs for customers served by the municipal utilities. NSP had not piloted smart meters as of April 2013. As of 2014, time-of-day power rates are only available for customers using approved electric thermal storage heating systems, who pay between 14 and 19 cents/kW·h on-peak and 7.3 cents/kW·h off-peak. The rates and necessary metering equipment have not been offered to other customers who requested them. Dalhousie Professor Dr. Larry Hughes argues that they should be more widely deployed to encourage conserving power on peak, ensuring that electric vehicles and other discretionary devices charge off-peak, and otherwise levelling usage. An increasing amount of power
SECTION 10
#1732773240732444-539: Is a lake in Kings County , Nova Scotia , Canada , about 10 km south of the town of Kentville, Nova Scotia on the South Mountain . It is the largest lake in Kings County, and the fifth largest lake in Nova Scotia. The lake is shallow with dozens of forested islands and hundreds of rocky islets ( skerries ) . The water level of the lake is controlled by Nova Scotia Power . At the natural outlet to
481-513: Is an important element to meet the future electricity needs of Nova Scotia. NS Power began implementing Energy Efficiency & Conservation programs (EEC) for customers in 2008. Conservation programs for large commercial and industrial electricity users were the first to be launched by NSP, in May 2008. Although electric utilities across Canada commonly administer similar programs, lobbyists accused NSP of potential conflicts of interest, because it
518-442: Is coming from wind which is generated at unpredictable times, either on or off peak, suggesting a dynamic electricity pricing scheme might be required and thus a more functional fully networked power grid far beyond the capabilities of typical "smart meters". In June 2017 NSP withdrew its application for a pilot project to test wireless smart meters, under criticism from consumer advocates. It instead proposed that it "would prepare
555-677: Is led by an independent board of directors and regulated by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. Its programs are funded by a DSM Cost Recovery Rider (DCRR) on customers' power bills that varies according to each customer's rate class and energy consumption. The average residential customer pays $ 63 per year for conservation programs as of 2014. Average payments by medium industrial customers dropped from over $ 200/month in 2012 to just over $ 100 in 2013 and 2014. For 2012, ENS claimed that it "helped Nova Scotians save $ 100 million in electricity costs. Energy savings totalled 141.8 million kilowatt hours, enough electricity to take 14,000 average homes off
592-521: Is privately owned by Emera and regulated by the provincial government via the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB). Nova Scotia Power Inc provides electricity to 520,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Power Commission was formed in 1919 by the provincial government, following the lead of several other Canadian provinces in establishing Crown corporation electrical utilities. The commission constructed and opened its first hydro plant at Tantallon
629-553: The Annapolis River at Annapolis Royal . This technology, similar to hydroelectric dams , did not become globally widespread. In 1992, NSPC was privatized by the provincial government of Premier Donald Cameron in what was then the largest private equity transaction in Canadian history. Cameron's government had been under heavy pressure to control provincial deficits and debt servicing thus the controversial decision to sell
666-548: The Bay of Fundy , indicating that toolstone was transported in large numbers up the Gaspereau River and worked into artifacts. https://www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/communities/wendy-elliott-mikmaw-mans-quest-for-a-monument-at-gaspereau-lake-realized-521292/ https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7027585 Nova Scotia Power Nova Scotia Power Inc. is a vertically integrated electric utility in Nova Scotia , Canada. It
703-478: The Gaspereau River , in the north-east corner of the lake, there is a control dam and fish ladder . Another control dam at the south-east corner of the lake controls outflow to a canal which diverts water to hydroelectricity stations on the lower sections of the Gaspereau River system. In late spring the namesake fish, gaspereau ( alewife ) migrate from the ocean up the Gaspereau River, and spawn in
740-585: The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB). The proposed charges would have been a one-time "exit fee" payable by the municipal utilities in exchange for ending NSP's monopoly on the wholesale supply of electricity. The NSUARB found that a 2005 agreement that allowed third-party suppliers to sell power over NSP's grid gave the municipal utilities the right to purchase power from third parties without paying an exit fee, as long as their businesses did not substantially change or expand. In 2014, Mahone Bay , Antigonish , and Berwick signed an agreement to develop
777-559: The Town of Lunenburg Electric Utility (TLEU) initiated a smart meter pilot project. Participating customers were provided with meters that could record power consumption in real time, and a wireless network was set up to communicate with the meters. Municipal Electric Utilities of Nova Scotia Cooperative Ltd. and the Nova Scotia Department of Energy had previously studied ways to reduce or shift demand during peak times as
SECTION 20
#1732773240732814-591: The Crown corporation. This privatization created Nova Scotia Power Incorporated (NSPI). On December 2, 1998, NSPI shareholders voted to restructure the company to create a holding company which would be shareholder-owned, with the regulated utility being a wholly owned subsidiary of the holding company. On December 9, 1998, NSPI received approval to establish NS Power Holdings Incorporated and NSPI shareholders exchanged their shares in NSPI for shares in NS Power Holdings Inc. on
851-759: The Eastern Interconnection. Nova Scotia Power has not announced any plans for a direct interconnection with the United States as of 2014. On November 18, 2010, Nova Scotia Power's parent company, Emera , announced a $ 6.2 billion deal with Newfoundland and Labrador's Nalcor Energy to develop the Phase 1 of the Lower Churchill Project, including transmission infrastructure to bring power to Nova Scotia from Muskrat Falls , Labrador . By providing long-term, guaranteed access to
888-655: The Gaspereau, floating down the river on inner tubes, has grown in popularity in recent years to the point of causing traffic and parking concerns. Vineyards occupy a significant part of the Gaspereau Valley, up to Grand-Pré , producing white wines , such as based on the L'Acadie blanc grape variety, and red wines (for example, the Marechal Foch variety. 45°07′37″N 64°16′21″W / 45.12694°N 64.27250°W / 45.12694; -64.27250 Gaspereau Lake Gaspereau Lake
925-443: The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board for approval to spend $ 23 million on conservation programs in 2010. The spending was offset by a reduction in power rates under Nova Scotia's fuel adjustment mechanism due to lower-than-expected oil and gas prices in 2009. Public consultations held in Nova Scotia in 2008 produced a report recommending the creation of an independent demand side management administration. Conserve Nova Scotia,
962-609: The area after the Expulsion of the Acadians also harvested fish but also cleared the river banks for farming, notably for apple orchards and built saw mills in the upper reaches of the river. Eventually nine sawmills operated on the river system, creating employment through extensive logging of the South Mountain but also disrupting the ecology of the river with dams and sawdust deposits. After an unsuccessful attempt in 1910,
999-549: The following year. Throughout the 1920s-1960s, the commission grew as private and municipal owned hydro plants and electrical utilities went bankrupt or sold their assets. In 1960, Nova Scotia was connected to the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission in the first electrical inter-connection between provinces in Canada. The Nova Scotia Power Commission underwent unprecedented expansion during
1036-483: The future of Nova Scotia Power and the province's renewable energy strategy in the aftermath of a tentative C$ 4.8 billion deal for the sale of most assets of NB Power to Hydro-Québec , on October 29, 2009. The government of Nova Scotia was concerned that the deal could affect its plan to develop renewable energy sources for exports to New England in competition with Quebec's publicly owned utility, as all existing transmission routes were through New Brunswick. The sale
1073-605: The grid" on expenditures of $ 43.7 million - a total cost under $ 0.31 per kilowatt hour for permanent savings that recur year over year. The cash-on-cash return on investment province-wide is well over 100% for the entire history of Efficiency Nova Scotia. In October 2013 NSP announced it would extend Schneider Electric 's GIS technology with embedded OMS and DMS technologies to "efficiently monitor, analyze, and manage its network of nearly 500,000 customers for more rapid response to power outages." NSP accordingly appears to be following Schneider's blueprint for grid evolution. In 2013,
1110-501: The late 1960s when five new thermal generating stations were constructed to meet the growing residential and industrial demand in the province. On January 27, 1972, the Government of Nova Scotia acquired Nova Scotia Light and Power Company, Limited (NSLP), an investor-owned utility , leasing its assets to the renamed Nova Scotia Power Corporation (NSPC). In 1984, NSPC opened the world's first tidal power generating station on
1147-720: The province. The municipal utilities jointly own the Municipal Electric Utilities of Nova Scotia Cooperative Ltd. (MEUNS). Together, they serve under 15,000 people, or about 2% of the provincial population. The majority of the municipal utilities purchase electricity through an interconnection with Nova Scotia Power; however, some, including the Berwick Electric Light Commission, have supplementary generating assets such as small hydro stations. In 2012, MEUNS successfully opposed charges of $ 28–32 million that NSP had requested before
Gaspereau River - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-794: The river creating a watershed of 1,375 square kilometres. A major tributary is the Black River which joins the Gaspeareau at White Rock. The Black River once flowed further north into the Cornwallis River but connected to the Gaspereau through a natural erosion process known as river capture . Although the Gaspereau is a short river, the riverbed habitat and connecting lakes form an important and productive breeding ground for several species of migratory fish including Gaspereau (Alewife) , Rainbow Smelt and Atlantic Salmon . Atlantic Tomcod , Atlantic Sturgeon and Striped Bass spawn in
1221-579: The shallow waters of Gaspereau Lake. The Gaspereau Lake Reservoir Site Complex is a cluster of archaeological sites on the shore of Gaspereau Lake. Possibly dating as early as 10,000 years ago, the sites show continuous occupation from at least 5000 years ago until after European contact 500 years ago. The largest of the sites, the End of Dyke Site, is the largest site in the Maine–Maritimes Region when measured by artifact density. Artifacts retrieved from
1258-411: The site include lithics (stone flakes, projectile points, and scrapers), ground stone tools, ceramics, copper, red ochre paintstones, shark's teeth, and faunal remains, among others. Numerous hearth features were identified. The Gaspereau River , which drains Gaspereau Lake, also hosts significant archaeological resources. Both areas contain large amounts of toolstone specific to the Minas Basin in
1295-467: The tidal portion of the river. The productive fish runs of the Gaspereau attracted a large settlement of the Mi'kmaq people near Melanson. Acadians from the settlements at Grand-Pre were also attracted to the fish runs of the river in the late 1600s and named it after the Gaspereau fish with the name "Rivière des Gasparots" first appearing in a 1701 census of Acadia. The New England Planters who settled
1332-420: Was both a vendor of electricity and also the administrator of programs that, if successful, would reduce energy sales. The utility spent $ 11.9 million on conservation programs in 2008 and 2009. A third party evaluation confirmed that the programs had saved over 85 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, exceeding the utility's goal of 66 million kilowatt-hours. In April 2009, the utility applied to
1369-1063: Was reduced in scope due to public pressure in NB, then dropped entirely. The Shawn Graham government fell partly as a result of the failure of these deals and the lack of public consultation prior to pursuing them. In partial response to concerns about being cut off from the New England market, NS Premier Darrell Dexter began to pursue a "loop" strategy for Nova Scotia's electric interconnection, connecting Muskrat Falls in Labrador to Cape Breton , thence to mainland Nova Scotia and, via subsea DC transmission cable, New England. This would connect NL, NS and potentially PEI with its peers in FERC Eastern Interconnection directly without relying on Quebec or New Brunswick. Thus, any future deal to extend Quebec's ownership or Quebec's interconnection could not prevent dealings between peers in
#731268